September 2017 Sales Numbers, an anniversary and a goodbye

September 2017 plug-in vehicle sales were mostly up, over the previous month.

For the last two years, September has been a pretty average month for me. This September was not as good as the two previous Septembers, but didn’t miss the previous one by much.

One other graphic, which I’ve shown before, is a zoomed in look at adoption rates (see below). The Bolt EV and plug-in Prius are the only vehicles I track that have seen a greater adoption rate than the original Prius. The plug-in Prius outpaced its ancestor for its first 15 months of availability, but did not keep up that pace and faded away over time. Now that the next generation Prius Prime has debuted, adoption rates have once again picked up. The Bolt EV, on the other hand has stayed above the original Prius adoption rate for 9 months, with only its debut in December 2016, when it was only available in California and Oregon, scoring lower than the Prius. The Bolt EV now enjoys a lead of 4,606 units after 10 months of availability. No other vehicle has ever had that much of an advantage, over the original Prius’ adoption rate. Second place falls to the plug-in Prius, which at its maximum had a lead of 2,471 units. The Model S had risen to a better adoption rate than the original Prius in its 40th month of availability, only to fall behind and stay there. The Model X, has stayed within striking distance of the Prius adoption rate, exceeding it in months 16, 17, 19 and 25 (last month). If the Model X’s first 3 months hadn’t been so low-volume, it may have produced a curve similar to the Bolt EV’s trajectory.

As the Plug-in Prius shows, the Bolt EV adoption may fizzle out, or it may be the next major turning point in automotive history, living up to the original Prius’ prominent spot.

Only time will tell.

Here are the September 2017 sales figures, compared to the previous month:

• Chevy Volt: UP 1% (1,453 vs. 1,445)
• Chevy Bolt EV: UP 25% (2,632 vs. 2,107)
• Nissan Leaf: DOWN 9% (1,055 vs. 1,154)
• Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 4% (1,899 vs. 1,820)
• Tesla Model S: UP 126% (4,860 vs. 2,150) **estimated
• Tesla Model X: UP 98% (3,120 vs. 1,575) **estimated
• BMW i3: UP 7% (538 vs. 504)
• Ford Fusion Energi: UNCHANGED (763 vs. 762)
• Ford C-Max Energy: DOWN 3% (683 vs. 705)
• Hyundai Ioniq Electric: DOWN 45% (36 vs. 66)

In September, the average price of gasoline started out around $2.61 per gallon, rising steadily until the 7th. After the 7th, prices continued to fall, with a minor bump up around the 28th, ending the month at it’s lowest point, below $2.55.

My Bolt EV sales have hit the following milestones:

• After only three months, Bolt EV sales have now equalled or exceeded my four-year sales totals for nine other Chevy vehicles.
• As a percentage of all vehicles I have sold, in my four years at Classic Chevrolet, plug-in vehicles (Volt & Bolt EV, at 24%) have exceeded the percentage of my sales that was SUVs (23%), Trucks (20%) and Corvettes (10%).
• The last three months of Bolt EV sales are about one-fourth of my four year Volt sales.
• For 2017, three months of my Bolt EV sales have exceeded my Volt sales for all nine months of 2017 so far.

My September sales were comprised of three Bolt EVs, one Silverado, one Cruze, one Colorado, one Spark and one Volt. Bolt is still the vehicle of the moment. Volt pulled away from pickups, once again, but the Bolt EV is gaining quickly. I am definitely seeing much more customer interest in the Bolt EV than I am in the Volt.

Plug-in sales, compared to the same month a year ago, were mixed.

• Chevy Volt: DOWN 28% (1,453 vs. 2,031)
• Chevy Bolt EV: (was not available in September 2016)
• Nissan Leaf: DOWN 20% (1,055 vs. 1,316)
• Plug-in Toyota Prius: UP 47,375% (1,899 vs. 4) **previous generation Prius plug-in, dying out last September
• Tesla Model S: UP 12% (4,860 vs. 4,350)
• Tesla Model X: DOWN 2% (3,120 vs. 3,200)
• BMW i3: UP 38% (538 vs. 391)
• Ford Fusion Energi: DOWN 54% (763 vs. 1,652)
• Ford C-Max Energi: DOWN 1% (683 vs. 689)
• Hyundai Ioniq Electric: (was not available in September 2016)

The anniversary: Today marks the fourth anniversary of my becoming an EVangelist at Classic Chevrolet. It’s been a fun ride so far, with many changes made (and more to come, I’m sure).

Thanks to all who have helped me in this part of my journey.

Finally, the retirement of a legendary salesperson: “Easy Trading” Dale Bryant. Dale’s desk was in a prime spot, in the main showroom, right next to the front doors. He had been in car sales for decades and was well known in that field. He taught me a lot about the business, when I first came on board, but what amazed me the most was his memory for his clients’ faces. A person would walk in and although Dale had not seen them for months (maybe even years) he would always say, “Hi, Mr. ______! How have you been?” He never seemed to draw a blank on a name! He had been at Chevy long enough that he knew all sorts of trivia on each well-established model. He was a wealth of knowledge and advice. I’ll miss him.

Have a wonderful retirement, Dale!